Tag Archives: FSU upsets Duke

The Duke junior class had not lost a game in Cameron and that in itself should make Blue Devil fans appreciate just how awesome the streak was despite a 76-73 heart breaking loss to Florida State at the buzzer. The Blue Devils built little leads along the way, but Florida State answered all of them in the 2nd half where they score 50 points. Another contributing factor to their late success inside was the fact that Ryan Kelly and Mason Plumlee were saddled with four fouls apiece.

Austin Rivers drove the basket and hit a key shot for Duke tying the game with 4.8 ticks left, but the Seminoles found a wide open Michael Snaer who hit the best three point shot in his life. The win puts Florida State atop the ACC while Duke is now in 2nd both with 4-1 marks. Austin Rivers led Duke in scoring with 19 points and was very upset with the loss in the locker room which is to be expected. Andre Dawkins with 14 and Seth Curry with 12 rounded out the double figure scorers for Duke.

The Florida State defense slowed the Duke offense as well holding them to 31.4% from the field in the first half while they shot an impressive 66.7% in the second half. The Noles shot three more free throws than Duke in a game where the score was tied 11 times and the lead changed 5 times. It doesn't get much easier for Duke as they next travel to Maryland in what is always a hostile environment.

TALLAHASSEE - The Florida State Seminoles defeated the Duke Blue Devils 66-61 in Tallahassee. Derwin Kitchen had a huge second half for the Noles, finishing with 22 points on the night to lead all scorers. Chris Singleton added 18, as the Seminoles knocked down their free throws in the final minute to seal the victory.

The Blue Devils got off to a cold start, shooting 0-10 from 3 before Ryan Kelly knocked one down halfway through the first half. Kyle Singler finished with just 2 points in the first half, but rallied with a big second half to lead the Blue Devils’ scorers with 20 points and 8 rebounds. Nolan Smith added 19 for Duke, who shot just 31% from the field overall. Mason Plumlee added 14 rebounds for the Blue Devils, but struggled with foul trouble throughout the game, eventually fouling out in the final minute.

Florida State closed out the first half on a 7-0 run to take a 28-24 lead into halftime. The Seminoles extended their lead to start the second half, energizing the crowd and forcing a timeout by Coach K with 16:28 remaining. Duke would then go on a run of their own, sparked by an aggressive half-court trap defense and capped off by three free throws by Andre Dawkins at the 11:46 mark to tie the game at 42. A few minutes later, Chris Singleton would head to the bench with his fourth foul, but Kitchen was able to carry the offensive load for the Seminoles. Kitchen got the shooter’s bounce on a 3 and then converted a traditional 3 point play to put the Seminoles up for good. Nolan Smith would hit a 3 at 2:26 to cut the lead to 1, but Florida State refused to buckle.

The Florida State fans, who were loud throughout the second half, stormed the court in victory. The loss drops Duke to 2-1 in the ACC and 15-1 overall while Florida State improves to 12-5 overall with a 2-1 conference mark.